[photo credit; Pasadena Symphony and POPS]
The program, “Remember When Rock Was Young: The Elton John Tribute,” is the fourth of five concerts in the orchestra’s 2026 Rusnak Summer Concert Series, which runs June 20 through Aug. 29 at the Los Angeles County Arboretum. Resident Pops Conductor Larry Blank leads the program.
The POPS is the summer arm of the Pasadena Symphony Association, which is based on South Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena. The concerts themselves take place at the Arboretum in neighboring Arcadia, a few miles to the east.
In announcing its 2026 season, the Pasadena POPS said Meyer performs as “Almost Elton John,” backed by a group billed as the Rocket Band, in a program drawn from Elton John’s catalog. The organization said Meyer, a singer, actor and pianist, has toured and recorded with Frankie Valli and Barry Manilow.
The concert falls during the orchestra’s first summer season without Michael Feinstein at the POPS podium. The Pasadena Symphony Association describes Feinstein’s tenure leading the POPS as spanning more than a decade. Blank, a Broadway composer, conductor and orchestrator, has been nominated three times each for the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award, according to the organization.
On the series calendar, the Aug. 15 date sits between “A Toast to the Rat Pack” on July 25 and the finale, “Music of the Night: Andrew Lloyd Webber & Friends,” on Aug. 29. Blank conducts all five programs in the series, according to the Pasadena POPS.
The Arboretum evenings follow a set rhythm across the summer. According to the Pasadena POPS, gates open in the early evening for picnicking on the grounds before each performance, and audiences are seated on the lawn as the orchestra plays after sundown.
“Remember When Rock Was Young: The Elton John Tribute” takes place Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, 301 North Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. for picnicking, and the concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Single tickets start at $38 and are available by phone at (626) 793-7172, online at pasadenasymphony-pops.org/tickets, or at the Arboretum on concert days. The Pasadena POPS say guests may bring their own food and drink or pre-order from onsite vendors. Single-ticket holders may buy parking for $20 at Santa Anita Park, across North Baldwin Avenue, which the organization says includes a shuttle to the Arboretum entrance. Arboretum members receive a 10 percent ticket discount through the membership office.
It will be the fourth of five summer nights the POPS spend at the Arboretum this year — and, for one of them, a Pasadena orchestra belongs to Elton John.
Pasadena POPS: “Remember When Rock Was Young — The Elton John Tribute” — Saturday, August 15, 2026, 7:30 p.m. | Link: https://pasadenasymphony-pops.org/rusnak-summer-concert-series-2026/ Visit PasadenaVisit Pasadena
